
Class F 

Book _^_iA_ 



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MEMORIAL 



PROCEEDINGS OF THE SENATE 



UPON THE DEATH OF 



EDWIN W. SMILEY, 



LATE CHIEF CLERK OF THE SENATE 



PENNSVLVANIA. \ assew^bl/, \^oe 



HABRISBURG, PA.: 

HABRISBURG PUBLISHING CO., 8TATK PUINTBR. 
J90H. 




'UG 3 1906 
D. ofO, 



T^^^ 
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I 



RESOLUTION. 



In the Senate, 
February 7, 1905. 
Resolved, (If tke House of Representatives concur), That one thou- 
sand (1,000) copies of the memorial services held in honor of Edwin 
W. Smiley, late Chief Clerli of the Senate, be printed for the use of 
the Senate. 

FRANK A. JUDD, 
Chief Clerk of the Senate. 
The foregoing resolution concurred in February 8, 1905. 

THOMAS H. GARVIN, 
Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives. 

Approved— The 14th day of February, A. D. 1905. 

SAML. W. PENNYPACKER. 



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PROCEEDINGS OF THE SENATE 



UPOK THK DEATH OF 



EDWIN W. SMILEY. 



In the Senate, 
Tuesday, January 24, 1905. 

On motion of Senator Shepard, the following resolution was twice 
read, considered and agreed to, viz: 

Resolved, That a committee of nine members of the Senate be ap- 
pointed to draft suitable resolutions and prepare a programme for 
memorial exercises on the death of the late Senator John T. Harrison, 
of Philadelphia, who died on December eighteenth, one thousand nine 
hundred and three; of the late Senator Alexander E. Patton, who died 
September fifth, one thousand nine hundred and four, and upon the 
late Edwin W. Smiley, Chief Clerk, who died September seventh, one 
thousand nine hundred and four, and that a special meeting of the 
Senate be held Tuesday, February seventh, one thousand nine hundred 
and five, at two o'clock post meridian, to which said resolutions be 
submitted and the programme carried out. 



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MEMORIAL RESOLUTIONS AND ADDRESSES. 



In the Senate, 
Tuesday, February 7, 1905. 

Afternoon Session. 

Pursuant to adjournment the Senate was called to order 
at two o'clock P. M., Lieutenant Governor Brown in the 
Chair. 

The PRESIDENT. The session this afternoon is held for 
the purpose of doing honor to the late Edwin W. Smiley, 
Chief Clerk of the Senate. 

PRAYER. 

Prayer was offered by the Chaplain, Reverend J. Wesley 
Sullivan, as follows : 

O, Lord, our God, Thou dost lead us in marvelous and 
wonderful ways, and at this time Thou dost bring us into 
the face of death for those whose hands used to grasp at ours 
and whose faces used to look into our own are now silent in 
the grave beneath the winter snow. In Thy providence they 
have been taken away from us. They have gone down the 
valley, the deep, dark valley, we shall see their faces no more 
until we pass down the valley, the deep, dark valley and meet 
them on the other shore. 

Thou art teaching us that in the midst of life we are in 
death, and though we may realize the activity of life and 
there may be no indication of our weakness or of the death 
that awaits us, nevertheless, O God, we realize by these les- 
sons that we are passing away and sooner or later we must 
stand in Thy presence at the bar of judgment to render to 
Thee an account of our stewardship, for we realize that the 
places that now know us shall soon know us no more for- 
ever. 

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MEMORIAL SERVICES. 



Our desire and our prayer is that when Thy messenger 
shall come to us that we may be ready; forbid that any of us 
should put off this great question, the preparation for the 
life that is beyond, and that death should meet us unprepared 
for this great change, help us by Thy grace and by Thy sus- 
taining power to so live that we may have no fear, and we 
pray especially for the homes where death has come, where 
there are the widows and the beloved children, those who at 
this time look to this service being held here in memory of 
their beloved who have left them, we ask Thee that in their 
hearts of sorrow and bereavement may come Thy special 
blessing and comfort. 

Bless us now, lead them and us by Thy presence so that 
when we are taken from this earthly home we may all go to 
that home not made by hands eternal in the heavens. 

We ask it for Christ's sake, Amen. 

Mr. CUMINGS. Mr. President, as a member of the com- 
mittee to prepare resolutions relative to the death of the late 
Edwin W. Smiley, Chief Clerk of the Senate, I offer the 
following resolutions : 

RESOLUTIONS. 

Whereas, Edwin Wilson Smiley, late Chief Clerk of the 
Senate of Pennsylvania, was removed from us by death on the 
seventh day of September, one thousand nine hundred and 
four, after having served this body in various official capaci- 
ties for a period of nearly twenty-five years — ten years of that 
time as its Chief Clerk, and 

Whereas, It is eminently fit and becoming that this Senate 
should give formal record of official service and its regret 
that this service has l)een terminated by death ; therefore. 

Resolved, That this Senate express its recognition of the 
singular ability, industry and fidelity which characterized 
Edwin Wilson Smiley's long official connection with this 
body ; its obligation to him especially for the valuable and 
efficient service rendered by him as its Chief Clerk, to which 
office he brought a knowledge of parlianientary law and of 
the precedents of the Senate which was invaluable; and its 



EDWIN W. SMILEY. 



deep and lasting appreciation of the uniform courtesy and 
spirit of helpfulness which he displayed to all the members of 
the Senate, and that in his death the Senate has suffered a 
great personal as well as a great official loss, and that while 
we bow with humble submission to the Divine Decree which 
has removed him from the scene of his earthly labors, we 
cherish his memory as that of an able and faithful servant of 
the State, a loyal and helpful friend, and an upright and 
worthy man, and 

Resolved, That the sympathy of the members of this Senate 
is hereby extended to his widow and children, in the great 
loss which has come to them through his death ; and 

Resolved, That these preambles and resolutions be entered 
upon the Journal of the Senate and that an engrossed copy 
thereof be furnished to his family. 

JESSE S. SHEPARD, 
EDWIN A. IRVIN, 
J. K. P. HALL, 
J. HENRY COCHRAN, 
H. H. CUMLNGS, 
JOHN M. SCOTT, 
J. A. STOBER, 
CYRUS E. WOODS, 
JOHN S. FISHER. 
WILLIAM C. SPROUL, 
President pro tempore, 

Committee. 



10 MEMORIAL SERVICES. 



ADDRESSES. 

Mr. CUMINGS. Mr. President, we meet to-day to pay 
our tribute of honor to the memory of three men, our late 
associates in this chamber, who won by their abilities our 
admiration, by their generous and manly qualities our sincere 
regard and affection, and by their honest and faithful devotion 
to duty our confidence and esteem. Patton, Harrison, Smi- 
ley, each deserving our praise ; each, with a record of much 
achievement behind him, and with a promise of great useful- 
ness yet to come, has answered the final call from labor to 
reward. We cannot understand the inscrutable design of a 
Providence that removed from us such men ; we cannot tell 
how or why, but in humble and trusting faith in Him that 
doeth all things well, we know it must be better so. In my 
remarks I shall address myself particularly to the life and 
character of the one who for many years was my acquaintance 
and friend. Edwin Wilson Smiley, for more than twenty 
years an officer of this body, and for the last ten years of his 
life its Chief Clerk, was born in Franklin, Pennsylvania, Sep- 
tember twelfth, one thousand eight hundred and forty-five, 
and died at his home, Franklin, from apoplexy September 
seventh, one thousand nine hundred and five. For two years 
before his death his health was impaired, and an attack of 
Lagrippe last winter left him very weak, physically, and his 
recovery was very slow. Against the advice of his physician, 
he attended the funeral of his friend and mentor, Senator M. 
S. Quay, at Beaver. The exposure to which he was sub- 
jected at that time caused an almost total collapse, and soon 
after he suft'ered a stroke of apoplexy. From this he partially 
recovered, but in August he suffered a second stroke, and 
three weeks later a third, which three days afterwards termi- 
nated his life. 

Mr. Smiley's ancestors were Scotch-Irish, that earnest, vig- 
orous, aggressive, brainy race, which, according to its num- 
bers, has probably contributed more to the material progress 
and moral development of our conglomerate American 



EDWIN W. SMILEY. 11 



people than any other. It was they who settled our early 
Pennsylvania frontier, and peopled our State beyond the 
Alleghenies. Born fighters as they were, they eagerly ac- 
cepted the challenge of our mountainous wildernesses to 
come and take them, and from the none too fertile soil, 
and their hidden treasures of coal, oil and iron and other 
minerals wrought out the wealth of Western Pennsylvania. 
In the vanguard of the emigration of this race to Penn- 
sylvania were the Smileys ; one of them, John Smiley, E. W. 
Smiley's great-uncle, was a member of the first Legislature 
of this State, which sat in Philadelphia in June, one thousand 
seven hundred and seventy-six, and contributed greatly to 
the patriotic stand for independence which Pennsylvania 
finally assumed. Ilis great-grandfather was a soldier of the 
Revolution. His parents were John H. and Nancy Smiley, 
and his paternal grandfather, Thomas Smiley, was one of 
tlie pioneers of Franklin, and a soldier of the war of one thou- 
sand eight hundred and twelve. 

E. W. Smiley was educated in the common schools of 
Franklin, completing his studies in the old Franklin Acad- 
emy, from which he was graduated when he was fourteen 
years of age. Upon the completion of his school life he was 
apprenticed to the trade of printer on the .Vmerican Citizen, 
published in Franklin, and from that time until one thousand 
eight hundred and ninety-nine he was connected in some 
capacity with the printing trade — as apprentice, printer, fore- 
man, pressman, managing editor, being among the few of 
the old class, all-round printers living to-day. After master- 
ing his trade. Mr. Smiley found his health failing, and he 
decided that it would be necessary for him to engage in other 
pursuits. With this purpose he entered the Poughkeepsie 
Business College, taking a year's course, and then returned 
to Franklin. For the benefits to be derived from out-door 
w^ork, he secured employment in the engineering corps, stak- 
ing out the right of way for the Jamestown and Franklin Rail- 
road. At the completion of the road he engaged with a 
partner in the coal business, and, after four years, finding his 
health restored, he again entered journalism, securing employ- 
ment on the American Citizen, then owned by Alexander 



12 MEMORIAL SERVICES. 



AicDowell, at present Clerk of the House of Representatives, 
at Washington, D. C. 

In 1869 he accepted a flattering offer to act as editor of 
the Republican, published at Tionesta, Pennsylvania, and a 
year later, wdth his brothers, purchased the American Citizen, 
and became its editor — thus realizing an ambition that 
he had felt while learning the printer's trade, and which he 
never relinquished until his object was accompHshed. The 
tenacity of the man is illustrated in this dogged perseverance, 
and ultimate success. With little capital, except his deter- 
mination to win, and inherent ability, strengthened by a com- 
plete mastery of all the details of his business, and handi- 
capped by periods of ill health he entered upon and carried 
forward his new duties with a self-confidence and energy that 
was remarkable. In 1884 his business had increased to a 
point where he was able to absorb a rival newspaper. The 
Independent Press, and thereafter the two papers were one, 
and known as the Citizen-Press, which he edited and pub- 
lished until his retirement from journalism in 1899. 

Mr. Smiley was always an ardent Republican and his vig- 
orous editorials contributed much to the success of his party 
within the range of their circulation. As a politician he was 
characterized by breadth of comprehension of existing condi- 
tions, clear perception of political issues, and unusual insight 
into the trend of popular feeling. He was conciliatory in 
disposition, skilful in harmonizing dilYerences and of sound 
judgment as to the best methods of accomplishing political 
results. For thirty years he was a potent factor in the ])oli- 
tics of his county and district, serving, during most of the 
time, from one thousand eight hundred and seventy-five to 
one thousand eight hundred and eighty-nine, as the Republi- 
can county chairman of Venango county. 

In one thousand eight hundred and seventy-six Mr. Smiley 
was elected as a transcribing clerk in the Senate, followed 
in turn by the more responsible position in the Senate of 
Reading Clerk, Journal Clerk, and in one thousand eight 
hundred and ninety-one, of Chief Clerk of the Senate. Hi:^ 
training as a newspaper man, his facility as a writer, his 
industry as a student, his thoroughness in details, together 



EDWIN W. SMILEY. 13 



with a certain natural aptness in matters of parliamentary 
procedure, well fitted him for these various places, and 
especially for that of Chief Clerk of the Senate, a position 
which he held so long and so ably. His rare knowledge 
of parliamentary practice, precedents and decisions made his 
opinion most helpful to the presiding officers under whom 
he served. His affability and helpfulness of disposition, his 
willingness to aid those of less experience in the technicalities 
of parliamentary rules and usages, made him very helpful 
to many members of the Senate, and in fact to the members 
and employes of both Houses of the Legislature. 

Mr. Smiley was a private in Company F, Fifty-eighth Inde- 
pendent Militia, enlisting in July, one thousand eight hun- 
dred and sixty-three, and discharged the same year on ac- 
count of the mustering out of his regiment. He was a mem- 
ber of the Grand Army of the Rejrablic, and gave liberally to 
its support and its charities, but refused to wear its uniform 
or appear with it on parade, giving as the reason that he 
had never been under fire. He was a life-long member of 
the Methodist Episcopal church, and a long time member of 
the board of trustees of his church, where his executive ability 
vvas most helpful. He was deeply and tenderly devoted to 
his fam.ily, and few homes were happier. 

In all the relations of life Mr. Smiley was a faithful, manly 
man, loyal to his party, to his church, to his family, and to 
his friends; attentive to duty, tender hearted, affectionate, 
liberal according to his means, seeking to do the right as it 
was given him to see the right. He did not wear his heart 
upon his sleeve, nor did he parade his finer qualities; only 
to those who enjoyed his inner confidence was it given to 
see the best that was in the man, but to such his memory will 
ever be precious, not more for his abilities and his successes, 
than for the singular loyalty, sweetness and lovableness of his 
nature. 

Mr. BOLARD. Mr. President and Fellow Senators, T 
wish to add, to what has already been said, my tribute to the 
life^ and character of the Honorable Edwin W. Smiley, late 
Chief Clerk of the Senate, in whose memory we meet this 
day to commemorate. He was a man of more than ordinary 



14 MEMORIAL SERVICES. 

ability in the profession of his choice. He was a friend who 
could be relied upon under all circumstances. I have been 
personally acquainted with Mr. Smiley for over twenty years 
(as his district adjoins my own), and I have always esteemed 
him for his many noble virtues, and pure Christian character, 
which was manifested in his home and private life, and his 
general personal qualities which endeared him to all who 
knew him. We all know his public life was without spot 
or blemish. 

We mourn his loss to-day, but we do appreciate his noble 
life work, and I hope that all of us have, and will be benefited 
and stimulated to higher deeds and nobler purposes, such as 
were manifested in the life and character of the departed. 

With my friend. Senator Cumings, I attended his funeral 
obsequies and assisted in paying our last tribute of respect 
to his memory. May he rest in peace. 

Mr. WHITE. Mr. President, I wish to add my tribute 
to the memory of our deceased associates. 

W^ith Senators Harrison and Patton my acquaintance be- 
gan in the session of one thousand nine hundred and three, 
and during that session our relations were of the most pleas- 
ant character and no one can hold their memory in higher 
esteem than I. 

W^ith Mr. Smiley my acquaintance dated back over a period 
of more than thirty years. We first met at Franklin in one 
thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, and our- friendship 
continued since that time. He was my personal friend and 
was at all times ready and willing to serve in that friendship 
as best he could. 

In addition, we were graduates of the same educational 
institution and served together in the United States service 
in one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three. In political 
life in coming to the Senate in one thousand eight hundred 
and ninety-five, Mr. Smiley was Chief Clerk and I can never 
forget the courtesies and kindness which he extended to me 
personally, as well as to all other Senators, nor his willingness 
to give the advice which by his long service he was competent 
to do when it was requested by any one, but more especially 
new members. 



EDWIN W. SMILEY. 15 



During the session of one thousand nine hundred and three 
it was evident that his health was faihng and it was pain- 
fully apparent the last time I met him, which was at the 
funeral of the late lamented Senator Quay, that the end of 
his earthly career was approaching. 

But notwithstanding his failing health, he was always 
ready and anxious to meet and fulfil his duties. 

"As man may, he fought his fight, 
Proved his truth by his endeavor; 
Let him sleep in solemn night, 
Sleep forever and forever. 

Leave him to God's watching eye; 
Trust him to the hand that made him. 
Mortal love weeps idly by; 
God alone has power to aid him." 

Mr. STOBER. Mr. President, I do not intend to ofifer 
extended remarks on the death of Chief Clerk Edwin W. 
Smiley. Nor do I intend to eulogize or extol his virtues. 
It is common and customary to pass enconiums upon the 
dead. When a man like Edwin W. Smiley dies, public praise 
is not necessary. The deeds accomplished while living have 
made great his name. Honored and revered be his memory. 
Among the hills and valleys of Venango county, spouting 
forth the oil to lubricate the wheels, and lighting the marts of 
industry the world over, is nestled the busy, prosperous and 
happy city of Franklin, and on the shade embowered banks 
of the Allegheny river, modestly stands a vine clad home, 
from whence came the subject of this sketch. There Edwin 
Wilson Smiley was engaged in his life work, in the weekly 
issues of the "Citizen-Press," framing and moulding the 
sentiments of his great county, always for the good of his 
people, and the Commonwealth at large. 

In one thousand eight hundred and seventy-seven he was 
elected Reading Clerk of the ^Senate of Pennsylvania, at 
which time my acquaintance with him began. In one thou- 
sand eight hundred and eighty-three he was elected Journal 
Clerk and in one thousand eight hundred and ninety-one, the 
Senators, recognizing his executive ability, elected him as 
Chief Clerk, since which time upon the assembling of each 



16 MEMORIAL SERVICES. 

succeeding Legislature, he was re-elected without opposi- 
tion; a testimony to his ability and worth that was manifest 
to every Senator on this floor. 

Since the time of his election niany Senators have preceded 
him to that Senate Celestial, and Clerk Smiley may now be 
calling the roll of the score or more of Senators who faith- 
fully and truly attended to their earthly duties while living. 
No absentees. All of them present. The great and the 
humble, the rich and the poor, the powerful and the weak, 
the learned and the ignorant, reply, as with one voice, that 
humility and resignation, purity, order and peace, faith, hope 
and charit}' are the greatest blessings upon earth, and we. 
raising our eyes from time to time to eternity, from the visible 
creation, marvelous, beautiful, and glorious as it is. to the in- 
visible creation of angels and seraphs, from the footstool of 
God, to the throne of God himself, we repeat the greatest of 
these is charity. Edwin W. Smiley was charitable, he was 
generous, he was kind. It was his pleasure to instruct every 
new Senator as to the duties of his station, to assist him in 
mastering the intricacies of parliamentary proceedings. To 
meet him w^as to love him. But he is dead. 

"And is he dead, whose glorious mind lifts thine on high? 
To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die." 

For a quarter of a century or more he had been before the 
footlights in the great drama of life, but he has passed out- 
ward and upward, beyond the range of earthly vision, and 
reach of earthly voice, and we say that he is dead. And yet 
there are no dead. 

Bryant says : 

"As the long train of ages glide away the sons of men 

The youth in life's green spring, and he who goes 
In full strength of years, matron and maid. 

And the sweet babe, and the gray-headed man, 
Shall one by one be gathered to thy side, 

By those, who in their turn shall follow them. 
So live that when thy summons comes *o join 

The innumerable caravan, that moves 
To that mysterious realm, where each shall lake 

His chamber in the silent halls of death, 



EDWIN W. SMILEY. 17 



Then go, not like the quarry slave at night 
Scourged to his dungeon, but sustained and soothed 

By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave 
Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch 
About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams." 

Two years since I delivered a short tribute in this chamber 
to the memory of Senator Kemmerer wherein I quoted a 
stanza from Burleigh ; at the close Clerk Smiley left his scat 
and came to me and said: "At my death I would wish for 
nothing nicer to be said of me." I now repeat it : 

"As the bird to its sheltering nest 

When the storm in the hills is abroad, 
So his spirit hath flown from this world of unrest 
To repose on the bosom of God." 

At the opening of the present session when I remembered 
that Senator Harrison's and Senator Patton's seats would be 
occupied by others, and that there was one from whom we 
parted at the last session who would not extend a cordial 
greeting and from whose lips would not be heard the usual 
words of welcome, but that his body was peacefully resting 
in its long and narrow bed in his beloved home, and his spirit 
had passed to the great beyond, I doubted for a moment the 
aspiration of youth that 

"Higher, higher will we climb, 

Up the mount of glory, 
That our names may live through time 

In our country's story; 
For what is life? with ills encompassed round. 
Amidst our hopes, fate strikes the sudden wound. 
And man becomes fearful of himself. For what is man?" 

Young says : 
"A frail child of dust! helpless immortal! insect infinite! 
A worm! a God! I tremble at myself, 
And in myself am lost! at home a stranger. 
Thought wanders up and down, surprised, aghast, 
And wondering at her own! how reason reels: 
0, what a miracle to man is man. 
Triumphantly distressed! what joy, what dread! 
Alternately transported, and alarmed! 
What can preserve my life, or what destroy? 
An angel's arm can't snatch me from the grave; 
Legions of angels can't confine me there." 
2 



18 MEMORIAL SERVICES. 

And now in conclusion. Let these deaths remind us all 
that they, Harrison, Patton, Smiley, have passed on as the 
advance guard of this body; that we are only temporary so- 
journers here, that our eternal abiding place is in the heavens; 
that soon we go to solve the great mystery. 

A voice from heaven hath proclaimed : 

"Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord, from hence- 
forth ; yea, saith the spirit, that they may rest from their 
labours, and their works do follow them." 

The PRESIDENT (Lieutenant Governor Brown). The 
Chair can scarcely add anything to the eloquence to which 
I have listened here in memory of the late lamented Chief 
Clerk. Li every county of our Commonwealth there are men 
to-day who remember with grateful hearts the favors which 
he did them. 

When I first came as a Senator to this hall, having a very 
limited knowledge of parliamentary law I found him always 
ready and with a kindly disposition almost unequalled to 
lend a helping hand to every Senator, and always leading 
them in the path of rectitude and honor and right. 

When first called to the position which I occupy to-day 
and knowing very little about parliamentary law, I went to 
Mr. Smiley and said to him: "I must lean upon you and de- 
pend upon you to a great extent, and I know you will always 
be true and fair with me." He thanked me for the compli- 
ment, and I will say to you to-day that indeed he was always 
fair, and whatever success it was mine to have in this Senate 
two years ago belonged very largely to Edwin W. Smiley, 
and I will say further that he always tried his best to preserve 
the dignity of the Senate of Pennsylvania. It was a dear 
thing to him. Hundreds of times I have heard him say. 
"Well, Brown, that is not in accordance with the dignity of 
the Senate of Pennsjdvania." 

He was especially anxious that the dignity of the Senate 
should be observed, and while there may be Chief Clerks 
yet to come who will perform their duties in this magnificent 
pile that has been erected for the use of the House of Repre- 
sentatives and Senate of Pennsylvania, there never will come 
another who will more faithfully perform the sacred duties 



EiDWIN W. SMILEY. 19 



of the Chief Clerk of the Senate than he whose name to-day 
is inscribed upon the marble shaft away out there in Venango 
county. 

The PRESIDENT. The question is on the adoption of 
the Resolutions offered relative to the late Edwin W. Smiley, 
Chief Clerk of the Senate. 
The question being, 
Will the Senate agree to the resolutions? 
They were unanimously agreed to. 

ADJOURNMENT. 

Mr. SHEPARD. Mr. President, I move that the Senate 
do now adjourn. 

Mr. SPROUL. Mr. President, I second the motion. 
The question being, 

Will the Senate agree to the motion? 
It was agreed to. 

Whereupon, 
At three thirty o'clock post meridian the Senate was ad- 
journed by Lieutenant Governor Brown until eleven 
o'clock ante meridian Wednesday, February eighth. Anno 
Domini one thousand nine hundred and five. 




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